Saline High School's Tyler Palka is AnnArbor.com 2012 Washtenaw County football Player of the Year

Saline quarterback Tyler Palka is AnnArbor.com Player of the Year (AnnArbor.com file photo)

Saline coach Joe Palka didn’t want his son to play quarterback.

At Toledo Whitmer -- an Ohio high school football powerhouse, where Palka coached before this year -- the only person under as much scrutiny as the man with the headset and whistle, is the player under center.

A quarterback and a coach’s son? It was a recipe for disaster.

“You’re under pressure from your dad, you’re under pressure from coach, and unless you’re winning every game, you’re under constant pressure from the community…I actually discouraged him from playing quarterback,” Joe recalls.